Circular-knitting machine



I ZSheets-Sheet 2.

w. 1). HUSH. Circular Knitting Machine,

No'. 239,1 9. Pa tented March 22,1881.

N. PETERS. FHQTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D 7v 2 Shets-Sheet I. W. HUSE. Circular Knitting Machine.

No. 239.169. Patented March 221, 1881.

N-FEI'ERS, PHOTQLITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D, C.

* UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN D. HUSE, or LAGONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,169, dated March 22, 1881.

Application filed October 24, 1879.

and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification Figure 1 being a front view of a circularknitting machine provided with my improvements; Fig. 2, a top view of the same; Fig. 3, bottom view of the top cam-plate and cams thereon Figs. 4 and 5, views of parts of the machine detached.

Like letters designate corresponding parts I in all the figures.

The special purpose of my invention is to knit stocking-tops andsleeve-cuffs for undershirts; but it is applicable to other knitting, particularly of short pieces or articles. The special functions of themachine for the purposes designated are, first, to make a strong and close welt or binding at the upper edges of stocking-tops and the outer edges of cuffs; second, to knit one or more loose or open courses where the tops or cuffs are to be cut apart, and

where thelegs of stockings or sleeves of undershirts are to be put on and knit thereto; and, third, to determine by automatic devices where to knit the welts and loose courses and the lengths of the pieces.

The accompanying drawings represent the essential parts of a circular-knitting machine of the class in which two sets of needles are employed, one being a set of vertical needles mounted in a cylinder, A, and the otherfa set of horizontal needles mounted radially in a disk or dial-plate, B.

The'thread-carrier and devices for controlling and operating'the vertical needles are.

mounted on the ring 0, which revolves around the needle-cylinder A, being driven by means of a bevel-wheel, F, Fig. 1, on its inner sur' face, into which the driving-wheel gears, and is attached to a yoke, D, which has a central bearing around the central pivot of the machine. This collar has a cam-plate, E, secured to it, which consequently revolves with the ring 0, and carries on its under surface three cams,c b c, which determine the movements of narnely,to make the welt for the edges of cuffs and stocking-tops. The cam c moves the dialneedles out far enough to bring them into position to be taken by the other or movable cams in any of their adjustable positions. The needles, when caught by these earns 11 0, pass between them, and are moved outward more orless by the inner cam, 11, and inward again by the outer cam, 0. The said cams are pivoted at their rear ends, respectively, at dand 6, while their forward ends are oonnected, by pins extending up through slots in the camplate E, with, a connecting-rod, f, the other end of which is pivoted to an actuating-lever, G, pivoted to a standard on the ring G,so that the swinging of the said lever Gr determines the positions of the cams'b 0. In order that one connecting-rod, f, may serve for moving both cams, and that the said cams may move simultaneously, since they are to always retain the same relative positions, the pins extending up through the slots of the cam-plate may be connected by a slide-bar, g. The foot of the cam-operating lever Gr rests against the face of a cam-disk, H, the movements of which effeet the movements of the cam I) c. It turns on a horizontal pivot secured to the periphery of the revolving ring 0, and has peripheral projections h h, which, when it is desired to partially turn the cam-disk, are caused successively to strike a stop, I, which is held by a stationary rim or ledge, J, and projects from the machine below and outside the revolving ring. This stop is in the form of a rod or bar,

as to bring it into the path of the lowest projection,h, of the cam-disk or withdraw it therefrom. This movement is produced and its times determined automatically by the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

A set of cogs on the lower edge of the ring 0, by which ordinarily only the ring is driven through the driving-pinion gearing into the said cogs or circular rack, in the present case also gears into a cog-wheel, t, on the shaft of which is a pinion, j, which gears into another cog-wheel, k, that bears on its shaft or turns with a cam or eccentric, K, which operates on and has a sliding up-and-down movement, so

shown. The pawl Z of the lever takes into the teeth of a ratchet-wheel, M, which has a spur, m, on a cylindrical part at one side of its teeth. The relative diameters of the gear-wheels between the ring 0 and pawl-lever L and the number of teeth on the ratchet-wheel M determine the number of courses to be knit on the web between the successive returns of the camspur m to position, which is when it reaches a lever, N, that bears the stop-rod I, and lifts it sufficiently to bring the said stop-rod'into the path of the cam-disk H, as indicated in Fig. 1. This leverN turns on a fixed pivot at one end, and has a projection on its under side, to rest on the spur m of the ratchet-wheel for lifting the lever, as represented. The width of the spur m determines the number of courses to be knit round while the stop-rod 1 is elevated, and the number of projections h h on thecam-disk H determines the number of times the said cam-disk is to be struck by the stoprod, and consequently the number of partial revolutions to be made by the cam-disk before the stop-rod is allowed to drop again, and cease for the time to move the cam-disk as it comes round. As shown in the drawings, the spur m is wide enough to hold up the stop-rod I while three courses or rounds of stitches are knit, or while the pawl l moves the ratchetwheel M to the extent of three of its teeth. Therefore, since the cam-disk H has six projections, h h, it is turned half a revolution while the stop-rod I is at any one time held up in operative position. Corresponding with the construction of the parts connected therewith, as herein named,the cam-disk H has two camprojections on opposite sides ofits face, and each cam-projection has two steps, a and 0, one about half as high as the other, besides a space, 10, between the opposite cam-projections, without rise or height from the disk-face. When the foot of the lever G rests in one of these intermediate spaces the cams b cdirect the needles of the dial in positions for regular knitting. Then, when the stop-rod I is struck by one of the projections 7th of the cam-disk H, the latter is turned so as to raise the foot of the lever G upon the first step, at, of one of the cam-projections of the said cam-disk, and thereby throw the cams b 0 just far enough inward to prevent the dial-needles being thrown outward sufficient to slip the loops or stitches thereon over their latches, but yet sufficient to lay the thread again in their hooks, so that two sets of loops are thus held on the needles at the same time. The next time that the ring 0 carries around the operative parts, and another projection h of the cam-disk strikes the stop-rod, I, the foot of the lever Gris caused to rise upon the second step, 0, of the cam-projection, and this throws the cams b 0 so far inward that the dial-needles not only do not slip the loops over their latches, but their hooks do not take the thread, the cylinder-needles, however, during this time continue to loop the thread. The next time that the cam-disk H comes round, and

a projection, It, strikes the stop-rod I, the foot of the lever G is thrown entirely off from the cam-projection on the disk H, and the dialneedles resume their normal position and action, take the thread, cast off the loops, and go on knitting as usual. The result of the movements. just described is that a welt is formed by doubling in the thread of increased strength. By making the spur m on the ratchetwheel M longer and increasing the number of projections h h on the cam-disk H, with the camstops it o thereon of corresponding increased extent, additional layers of thread may be knit into the welt, thereby increasing its strength still more. When the ratchet-wheel M revolves, so as again to bring its spur m round to lift the stop-rod I, the welt is repeated on the web, the number of rounds knit each time being determined by the revolutions of the said ratchetwheel, and the length of the stocking-tops or sleeve-cuffs knit between the welts. The ratchet-wheel is held between successive movements of its pawl by a spring-brake, w, as shown in Fig. 1.

For knitting loose courses in the web to cut off the tops and cuffs by, and to pick onto the needles by, I employ the same means for timing and determining the length of the tops and cuffs as for spacing the welts, as above described, spurs q q, for effecting the movement, being secured or formed on the edge of a disk secured to the ratchet-wheel M, one spur determining where to make the pickingon course and the other for determining the position of the cutting-oil course. They precede in position the spur m, which determines the position of the welt sufliciently to give the required distances between the loose courses and the welt. The spurs, when they come round to an upward position, successively strike and lift a pivoted lever, 0, having a downward projection on its under side to ride upon the spurs, which lift it, so as to raise a stoprod, 1?, pivoted to it, into the path of a camdisk Q on the ring 0, and arranged thereon similarly to the cam-disk H, as above described. This cam-disk Q also has projections 1' r, to strike the stop-rod P for turning the cam-disk, upon which is a triple eccentric cam, It, on which rides one end, or a pin projecting from one end, of a lever, S, pivoted near its middle to a vertically-adjustable block, 8, on thering O, and at the other end to a pin, 25, attached to the cam, which raises the cylinder-needles to take the thread and cast-off stitches. This cam (not shown in the drawings, but constructedand operating in any suitable or usual manner, as, for example, in the patent of John Pepper, No. 68,107, dated August 27, 1867) is of ordinary construction, except that it has an up-and-down adjustment or movement, for the purpose of my invention, effected by means of the said lever S. When the cam-disk Q is turned so as to bring one of the rises of its cam R under the lever S, the needle'cam is lowered to make long stitches for the loose ICO IIO

courses required, and when the said cam-disk is moved so as to throw the lever S down from the rise of its cam, the needle-cam is raised again to make stitches ofthe normal length or closeness. There being three of the camrises of the said cam R alternating with the same number of depressions, all disposed at uniform distances around the circle, and there being six projections, r r, on the cam-disk, therefore at each revolution of the ring 0, when one of the spurs q g has lifted the lever O, the needle-cam is alternately lowered to knit a loose row of stitches, and raised again to knit the ordinary close stitches but, as herein arranged, after one row of loose stitches is knit, the first spur q is moved from under the projection of the lever O, and another row of loose stitches is not knit till the second spur q lifts the leverO. Thus both a cuttingofi and a picking-on loose courseof stitches are knit in succession, and their distance apart is automatically determined by the distance between the two spurs q g. It may be observed that the two cam-disks H and Q move in different paths, so that theirrespective stops 1 and P shall only act on the proper cam-disks.

In order to make the stitches close or loose by adjusting the dial-needles, I adjust the position of the pivot e of the outer can1,c, (which determines the extent to which the said needles are driven inward,) in toward or outward from the center of the machine. This is effected by the devices shown. The pivot 0 projects upward through a slot in the cam-plate E into an arm or lever, T, which is pivoted, at u, to the upper side of the cam-plate. The

other end of the lever T has a pin projecting downward, so as to enter any one of a set of holes, 12 o, in the cam-plate, as shown in Fig. 2, the lever being elastic, so as to spring the pin down into its hole; or be readily lifted out therefrom. Other means of adjusting the lever may be employed, as by an adjusting-screw.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the stationary cam a and the pivoted cams b c, with mechanism for moving them simultaneously in either direction, for determining the movements of the dial-needles, substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination of the two pivoted cams b a, linked Together, the lever G, connectingrod f, cam-disk H, and stop-rod I, for controlling the movements of the dial-needles, substantially as herein specified.

3. The combination of the cams I) a. lever Gr, connecting-rod f, cam-disk H, stop-rod I, lever N, ratchet-wheel M, provided with the spur m, and mechanism for operating the said ratchet wheel, for automatically controlling the movements of the dial-needles, substantially as herein specified.

4.. The combination of the needle-cam lever S, cam R, cam-disk Q, stop-rod P, lever O, ratchet wheel M, provided with spurs q q, and mechanism for operating the said ratchetwheel, for automatically knitting loose courses in stocking-tops and cuffs, substantially as herein specified.

y 5. The ratchet-wheel M, provided with the two sets of spurs m and q q, and the mechanism for operating the said ratchet-wheel, in combination with the two stop-rods I P, their levers N O, and the welt-forming and loosestitch mechanisms, for automatically operating the said welt-forming and loosestitch mechanisms at the proper intervals, substantially as herein specified.

Specification signed by me this 17th day'of December, 1877.

WARREN D. HUSE. 

